PARIS, France — Could mobile hospital units, which have long been in use in military and humanitarian settings and which were revived during the COVID-19 pandemic, fill the gaps in the French health system? This was the question asked at the 57th meeting of the French SantExpo exhibition, where two mobile hospital models were presented.
Adjustable Units
The COVID-19 crisis provided a chance to rediscover the benefits of field hospitals, which, due to their rapid deployment, increase healthcare provision in a given area. Field hospitals have an updated, civilian counterpart: the mobile medical unit. An example of this type of structure is Toulouse University Hospital’s mobile Emergency Response Unit, a facility that is unique in Europe. Visitors had the chance to examine it during the SantExpo exhibition.
Set up operationally during the 2020 health emergency, the mobile hospital welcomed patients from nearby facilities that found themselves saturated. It afforded a rapid response that met the needs of the time. Originally developed for the Pyrenees region during major events generating massive influxes of people, or in response to disasters likely to overwhelm local healthcare facilities, the unit was adapted to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transportable on a truck and fully self-sufficient, the Toulouse Emergency Response Unit’s mobile hospital, designed by Cegelec Defense, can be deployed in 20 minutes and is fully adaptable to the needs of local healthcare teams in real time. The structure can treat as many as 18 patients, including eight in need of critical care and as many as 10 who require an intermediate level of care. The unit contains all the material needed to care for extremely sick patients (such as syringe drivers, scopes, suctions, respirators, B5 oxygen cylinders, and ultrasound machines).
“This structure was the topic of much discussion during the COVID-19 emergency and proved its worth in numerous other situations. It could be more widely used still and meet the many needs and challenges of the 21st century,” said Mathilde Ratineaud, press relations officer at Toulouse University Hospital. The intention is now to develop the technology on a large scale.
An Expanding Field
In a sign of the growing interest in this type of structure, SantExpo also welcomed exhibitor Meetrucks, which, because of these machines’ success during the COVID crisis, decided to develop turnkey mobile hospital solutions. Hoping to rise to the challenge of access to healthcare for all, the Normandy-based company has conceptualized a mobile, multipurpose hospital structure that meets healthcare standards.
Meetrucks is made up of an expandable trailer covering a surface area of 160 m2 (about 1722 ft2) with an internal space that can hold specialized equipment for all medical and paramedical specialties. Two people can unfold and refold the structure in less than 15 minutes. The unit has enough stock to keep it running independently on site for 2 weeks and is suitable for routine and emergency situations.
The unit can be deployed in multiple areas, including medical deserts. It can meet needs relating to occupational medicine or provide care to people in care homes.
Meetrucks can also aid the armed forces by offering a secure mobile infrastructure. It can be deployed in emergency conditions “including in an urban setting, such as after a terrorist attack, a natural disaster or stampedes,” according to the manufacturer’s site. It will be marketed this year.
This article was translated from the Medscape French Edition.
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